Our Trip to Baltimore and other antics

Dearest Addison,

This past Friday marked your 16th month with us. We've been watching you grow more and more each day, and every day, you bring a new surprise. You've learned to point at what you want. When asked a yes or no question, you nod in agreement or shake your head no. You've developed an affinity for Kix cereal, it's a shame because that Costco sized box of Cheerio's your mommy got you isn't even halfway done... Look's like Daddy has a bit of "cleaning up" to do, after all, your mommy doesn't call me a human garbage disposal for nothing. =) What scare's me the most is that your becoming just like your Mommy... A shoe and purse fanatic, AND YOUR ONLY 16 MONTHS OLD!!! I don't know if my wallet can handle two shopaholics... =)

We had a bit of a vacation this past month. We tagged along with your mommy as she attended her annual Society of Toxicologist's meeting. I always joke with her and call it a Brainiac Convention because of all the smarty smarts running around... Who knows, maybe you too will get a PhD. Anyhow, we drove down to Baltimore, MD for a weeklong vacation. You and I spent much our time in the hotel's club lounge drinking all the free soda and eating all the appetizers while your mommy was getting her learn on. We did venture out a few times. We visited the Baltimore Aquarium and got to see a really neat dolphin show. The sharks did freak you out a bit though, but I don't blame you. Sharks freak me out too! We even took you to the Port Discovery Children's Museum. I think we all had a good time there. All in all, our trip to Baltimore was a blast, and I'm glad that your mommy asked us to come along instead of staying at home. Don't get me wrong sweetie, but I don't think I can handle you by myself for any longer than 2 days. =) Maybe next year mommy will let us go with her to Salt Lake City... Now that would be fun.

Here are some pictures of our trip and a few other things.

Love Always,
Daddy


Here you are livin on the edge.  For some reason, heights don't freak you so much.

Our first day in Baltimore we took you to the aquarium.

I believe this is a relative of Hawaii's state fish, the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a.  Say that 10 times fast.

OMG!  SHARK!

You were in a bit of a blah kind of mood that day...

This was your reaction at the dolphin show...

Even when it jumped out of the water.




Here we are chillin out at the club lounge.  You and your purse... =)

"Just tap the bottle...

...and...

...twist the cap!"

Drink up!

The day we took you to the children's museum, you still had some residual cranky's about you but you eventually lightened up.  =)

You and Mommy made a clay pot...

We even visited the mini cafe exhibit... I think you were hungry.

No sweetie, that's plastic food.

Yes... even the pancakes are plastic.

Ball Pit!

Here are you and Mommy just before we went to dinner.

Werd son!

That' s the USS Constitution in the back.  Go Navy!

Here are some pictures I took of you while we were goofing around one night.  You begged me to give you your hair clip container and gave me a hair clip to put in your hair... then you gave me another and another and another... hilarity ensued.

Pay no attention to the cheetos crumb on my eyebrow.

mmmmmm... cheetos

"Did you say toes?"  "By the way daddy..."

" I GOT YOUR CREDIT CARD!!!!"

Miscellaneous Monday

I've never been the greatest at blogging lately so I'm forcing myself to write about something at least once a week. I got the idea for Miscellaneous Monday from a great wedding photographer who I truly admire and hope to meet someday. You can check him out [here]

Let's begin! Welcome to our first Miscellaneous Monday!

-I've never been into Basketball so this whole March Madness thing just completely mystifies me. I'd rather play basketball than watch it, although I must say, I really stink. Matter of fact, other than the occasional Padres baseball game, I'm really not into watching any kind of sports.

-Season's... what's the big deal anyway? I'll take 365 days of summer over this. Oh well, at least it's spring.

-I'm meeting with a prospective bride today at Starbuck's. Now I like Starbucks, but why should I have to pay for Wi-fi there when it's free at Panera?

-I almost bought a new MacBook Pro last week at the Apple Store... As my old MacBook Pro is still a great machine, but is becoming too slow for my needs. Unfortunately, I ended up with a new battery and AC adapter for my old one. Disappointed is an understatement. On the bright side, I'll be buying an Apple Cinema Display to bring along with me to weddings for the reception slideshows! Woot!

-Last week, Addi started at a new daycare which has a web cam placed in the room so parents can watch their kids from work. ... That said, I didn't get much done at work. LOL!

-My good friend Ryan introduced me to his friends website recently and I thought the idea of it was really cool. His friends name is Megan Brooks. A fellow photographer, Megan shoots what some call Gore-tography. It's not for everyone, but she does some really neat work. Check out her website at Aesthetic Perfection. Like I said, it's not for everyone, so don't come crying to me about being offended after you click on the linky link, you've been warned. =)

That's it for this weeks episode of Miscellaneous Monday. Stay tuned next week for more miscellaneous meanderings from the mind of J. Castro! Cheers everyone!

-Jaymie

Laura and Matt: An Engagement session

We met Laura and Matt at the wedding of her sister Stephanie this past November. It was a cold, brisk winter morning that day. I had told them both to bundle up in layers but it seems only Laura heeded my warning. Poor Matt was freezing out there! But he pulled through like the trooper he is. We started out at Bear Mountain State Park and then headed over to Fort Montgomery. Wedding season has officially begun here at J. Castro Photography and we are in full swing! Laura and Matt, we'll see you both in a couple of weeks!

Addison at 15 months

Dearest Addison,

I have not written you a letter since early January of this year. Things have been quite hectic since we got back from Hawaii. It's amazing though to look back at these 2 months and reflect on how much you've grown. I cannot stop the amazement I feel whenever I sit down to write one of these letters to you. In 8 weeks time you've gone from walking with a funny wobble to nearly a full on run. This scares us quite a bit as you still have to work on the stopping part. =) You've become a daredevil of sorts running around the house and colliding head-on onto my leg then laughing as you fall on your bum. You've even started climbing off of and onto the couch. You can now recognize your grandparents as you mumble their names when you see their picture or hear their voice. You even make your Papa well up in tears when you call out to him over the phone. You've even established dominance over JoJo and have learned to tell him "no!". I can't help but laugh when I watch the two of you interacting with one another. JoJo is no longer a puppy and show's much patience with you as you yank at his ears and pull his little tail. Here are a few images of the past couple of months.

Here is an image of you in a sweater that a friend of you Mommy made for you.

Here you are with Mommy and Unkie Dewey

Unkie Dewey, JoJo and you.

Back in January we went to get your ears pierced at the doctors office. You were so brave... until after the first piercing.  I think they look great on you!

Here you are on inauguration day. Your Mommy and I had to work that day but didn't want to miss such an historic occasion. Thank God for DVR!

You and JoJo chillin out watchin TV.

Beggin for a treat!

Here you are on your first real snow day! Your mommy wanted me to capture images of you romping in the snow... too bad it was one of those slushy, wet snow days.

You've grown so much these past 2 months I assigned you do some work in our home office. Did you send out those client responses yet???

On the first warm day (58 degrees) of this unnaturally cold winter, we decided to take you to the park for your first walk with JoJo. Although JoJo had other ideas as to who was walking who, you came through and managed to show our little guy who was boss.

Right?

A couple of weeks ago we were invited by your mommy's coworkers to a tennis party. Although I have no athletic skills whatsoever, we decided it would be good fun to hang out watch the antics. Here is Nirav posing for a serve. Yeah this was totally posed!

And Steven going in for the kill...

After watching the fun on the courts I came into the lounge where you, mommy and her friends were hanging out. You were wandering around the table trying to take your hat off. You seemed uncomfortable wearing it. I was on the ground laughing when I saw you open the cabinet door and take a coffee filter out...

To use as a hat! Very nice!


That's about it Addi! I promise I won't skip months anymore, there are just too many things to cover with any cohesiveness when I skip a month. We love you!

Mommy and Daddy